Section 1 - Introducing the earthquake

The 2001 Gujarat earthquake occurred on January 26, 2001, India's 52nd Republic Day, at 08:46 AM local time (3:16 UTC) and lasted for over two minutes. The epicentre was about 9 km south-southwest of the village of Chobari in Bhachau Taluka of Kutch District of Gujarat, India. The earthquake reached a magnitude of between 7.6 and 7.7 on the moment magnitude scale and had a maximum felt intensity of X (Intense) on the Mercalli intensity scale. The quake killed around 20,000 people (including 18 in South eastern Pakistan), injured another 167,000 and destroyed nearly 400,000 homes.

This was an intraplate earthquake, one that occurred at a distance from an active plate boundary, so the area was not well prepared. The shock waves spread 700 km. 21 districts were affected and 600,000 people left homeless.

Effects

The final death toll in Kutch was 12,300. Bhuj, situated only 20 kilometres (12 mi) from the epicenter, was devastated. Considerable damage also occurred in Bhachau and Anjar with hundreds of villages flattened in Taluka of Anjar, Bhuj & Bhachau. Over a million structures were damaged or destroyed, including many historic buildings and tourist attractions. The quake destroyed around 40% of homes, eight schools, two hospitals and 4 km of road in Bhuj and partly destroyed the city's historic Swaminarayan temple and historic fort as well Prag Mahal and Aina Mahal. In Ahmedabad, Gujarat's commercial capital with a population of 5.6 million, as many as 50 multi-storied buildings collapsed and several hundred people were killed. Total property damage was estimated at $5.5 billion and rising. In Kutch, the quake destroyed about 60% of food and water supplies and around 258,000 houses - 90% of the district's housing stock. The biggest set back was the total demolition of the Bhuj Civil hospital. The Indian military provided emergency support which was later augmented by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Society. A temporary Red Cross hospital remained in Bhuj to provide care while a replacement hospital was built.

Little Known Stories Around the EarthQuake

A rather amusing piece of trivia that happened was, a few months before the quake, India had shot down a Pakistani fighter aircraft for alleged violation of its air-space. So when the turn came for Pakistan to send a relief aircraft full with aid and goods, a rather global announcement was made in order to safe-guard it and avoid any such repetition.

Another interesting event that occurred was the emergence of a river in the dry land of Kutch that ran along a great length. This gave rise to the hypothesis that the Indus river which had moved during such a similar event from the present-day Gujarat to the Present-day Pakistan in ancient times is now starting to move back to its ancient original course due to the latest tectonic forces. There were also various theological inferences regarding the mythical river of Saraswati but all that was quickly put to rest when the river dried up in the forthcoming summer season.